Lori McKenna at Club Passim

December was full of lots of concerts, which was great!  We were really lucky to get these tickets.  Apparently the Lori McKenna shows sell out almost instantly and are one of, if not the most popular shows at Passim.  I mean, she recently sold out the Garden and has quite the following so getting to see her in such a small venue is pretty magical!

And magical it was!  I'm not sure what else to say.  She is a phenomenal performer, with beautifully written songs, who really pulls the audience in.  December was a pretty stressful month so this concert was the perfect way to de-stress.  I'll definitely be getting tickets to her show next year.

After the concert we stopped in the Commander to see their tree, because no Christmas Tree Challenge would be complete without stopping there.

The Lizard Lounge

I think we've become Session Americana groupies.  When we saw them at Club Passim they mentioned they were doing a three week residency at the Lizard Lounge.  JO and I have always wanted to go to the Lizard Lounge so we decided to get tickets.  A Tuesday night show that starts at 9:00 is a little challenging, but I loved doing city things on a school nights.  It reminds me how lucky I am to live where I do.

The Lizard Lounge is a really neat basement venue.  It really fills up, so if you get stools or a close table don't give that up because the speaker might be close to you (thanks JO!)  The show was super fun!  I will definitely go see Session Americana anytime that they play a show.

Christmas Tree Challenge 2017

I think the Christmas Tree Challenge has become my favorite holiday tradition we have!  It started a few years ago when I had no Christmas Spirit.  I decided the best way to get my holiday spirit was to roam around the city trying to see all of the holiday displays in the hotels.  This year our December schedule was crazy busy so we only had one day that we could undertake the Challenge.  Then it snowed and it looked like our plans would be ruined!  I hate driving in the snow and the red line wasn't running between Kendall and Park, requiring a train and a bus ride.  At the last minute we decided to throw caution to the wind and hit the town in our puffy jackets and winter boots!

Our first stop was Hotel Nine Zero (I loved their purple theme)

Then Omni Parker (my sentimental favorite)

The we hit up the Ritz, Four Seasons, Revere (skinny tree big statue) the W (abstract much), Park Plaza, and a few more ending the night at the Taj.

We're hoping to squeeze another night of the Challenge in because we missed a bunch of hotels near Copley!  It was so fun running around the city while the snow was falling!  So far the Ritz is winning, especially because they have so many accessories!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Another one of my favorite holiday traditions is walking down to Ricky's Flower Market to get our tree, and walking home with it!  I love the look on peoples' faces when they see us leave the place with our tree!  Ricky's is a great place to get a tree.  They make the whole experience really festive!

Apparently I misjudged the size of the tree this year.  It's pretty "full."  It looks great and we even decided to take a risk this year and decorate it.  Ever since we got the kittens we've avoided the decorations for fear they would destroy them but we figured they were old enough.

And other than one little ornament issue the kittens have left the tree alone! And yes, we have a UConn tree!

Huskies at Parlor Sports!

I have blogged a ton about the awesomeness that is Parlor Sports.  I couldn't wait to watch a UConn game at Parlor Sports but the schedule is tough this year because a lot of the games are on ESPN3.


My Huskies won and it felt like we were right at home!  We even got the window tv so everyone in the neighborhood could watch the Huskies too!

The Nutcracker

Another one of our holiday traditions is going to see Boston Ballet's The Nutcracker.  There is something magical about walking into the Opera House and being greeted by the holiday decorations. and the teddy bear and rabbit waiting for pictures.  This year they even added a choir which was a great touch.  I used to go to this show with my mom when I was little so it always reminds me of that.  The production was excellent, the bubbles were fizzy, and the holidays were officially underway!

I loved seeing the Macy's tree on the way home.

Winter Classic 5K and Flour

I really had no interest in waking up to run the Winter Classic a few weekends ago.  I had so much to do, it was cold, and I didn't want to get out of bed.  I'm so glad I did because the race was a lot of fun and I came in under thirty minutes!  It felt great to be out on the course.

After the race, we decided to go get coffee and snacks at Flour.  I'm late to the party here.  Flour is amazing!  I kind of wish it was closer because I would go all the time!